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We all send our kids to school thinking they’ll be safe. They’ll be learning in a nurturing environment that brings out the best in these young minds. We are rightfully outraged and distraught when we learn that children’s safety is jeopardized through horrible events like school shootings. We want to do something, and we should!

But, are we as outraged and distraught if we learn that our kids’ innocence, minds and souls are being destroyed in our schools? Do we have the same impetus to do something? WE SHOULD, AND WE MUST!

Whether you send your child to a public, private or parochial school, the dangers to his or her innocence, mind and soul are the same. No school is immune from the dangers of pornography and sexting, and, in fact, it is far more widespread than we want to admit.

Close to home for me, just this week, a teacher in a Georgia school system took his own life rather than face the consequences of his actions. He was accused of watching porn and other illicit activities with one of his sixth-grade students!

Just last week, we learned of a major lawsuit The Thomas More Society filed on October 10, 2018, against EBSCO, a nationwide corporation that embeds pornography in databases it markets to schools for use by unsuspecting school children for their homework and research. This company has widespread distribution in school systems across the country and knowingly allowed pornographic content on their servers. This content includes sado-masochistic, bondage and discipline and other raw graphic content that was in place on a product that was to be used to help educate our children. Educate them for what? For a life of confusion and disorder.

The average age of exposure to hardcore pornography today is 8 years old! That is far too early for our kids to see what they are seeing and feel what they are feeling. Innocence is being stolen right before our eyes and we (the so-called responsible adults) are letting it happen.

Finally, and most strikingly, we are now creating a generation of children who are porn producers. The sexting craze is running rampant in our schools, and parents are not the ones dealing with it. Schools are the front line in this battle, and I for one, don’t trust a school system to be most concerned about my child’s innocence or soul. They are going to be most concerned about the school system, period. It’s up to parents to know who and what your child is texting. It’s your phone, not theirs, until they hit the age of 18 and start paying for it themselves. You have every right to see what’s on there, to block what you want and to have those uncomfortable discussions. You have a requirement as a parent to do so! Don’t let your own shame or discomfort stop you from getting down in the weeds with your kids about what they are seeing and hearing at school or on their phones. It could be the difference your child so desperately needs.

Need a quick refresher about sexting and its implications? Here are 11 facts parents need to know:

1. Teenage girls have a few reasons for why they participate in sexting: 40% do it as a joke, 34% do it to feel sexy, and 12% feel pressured to do it.
2. Who will see your sext? Seventeen percent of sexters share the messages they receive with others, and 55% of those share them with more than one person.
3. While nearly 70% of teen boys and girls who sext do so with their girlfriend or boyfriend, 61% of all sexters who have sent nude images admit that they were pressured to do it at least once.
4. Nearly 40% of all teenagers have posted or sent sexually suggestive messages, but this practice is more common among boys than girls.
5. Sending semi-nude or nude photos is more common among teen girls. Twenty-two percent of teen girls report sending images of this nature, while only 18% of same-age boys have.
6. Fifteen percent of teens who have sent or posted nude/semi-nude images of themselves send these messages to people they have never met, but know from the Internet.
7. Sending or receiving a sexually suggestive text or image under the age of 18 is considered child pornography and can result in criminal charges.
8. Twenty-four percent of high-school age teens (ages 14 to 17) and 33% of college-age students (ages 18 to 24) have been involved in a form of nude sexting.
9. Sexting is defined by the U.S. court system as “an act of sending sexually explicit materials through mobile phones.” The messages may be text, photo, or video.
10. In the U.S., 8 states have enacted bills to protect minors from sexting, and an additional 13 states have proposed bills to legislation.
11. Eleven percent of teen girls ages 13 to 16 have been involved with sending or receiving sexually explicit messages.

Get involved in your child’s school, get informed about what they are facing, and support organizations like Integrity Restored who are standing side by side with you in this David vs. Goliath battle for our children’s hearts, minds and souls.

Sources:
https://apnews.com/3b07b45f74e04929829e12f445c18112
https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/pornography-hidden-in-school-childrens-databases-parents-sue-educational-tech-company/
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-sexting